Reporter Vicki Gonzalez spent the past year on this series as a recipient of the 2018 California Fellowship with USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.
Clavo and a few friends were driving from a Del Paso Heights chicken restaurant to a football game at their Sacramento high school, where Clavo, a cornerback, was expected to stride onto the field with his usual swagger. He stopped at a light and gunshots erupted. He would never arrive.
Facing a $55-million deficit during the Great Recession, Sacramento County officials made a choice: To save money, they would close their free health clinics to people who entered the country illegally. Six years later, they want to reverse that decision.
Dr. Olivia Kasirye is the health officer for El Dorado County. Previously, she was tuberculosis controller for Sacramento County. She guides policies in Sacramento County concerning TB care and protection of the public against exposure. As a designee of the county health officer, the TB controller has authority to serve orders of strict or modified isolation on individuals suspected of active TB. Kasirye, an immigrant herself, has worked with diverse communities in various aspects of public health. She received her medical degree at Makerere University in Uganda.
Maria Morfin is the acting administrator for the Sacramento County Alcohol and Drug Services Division. She has over 25 years of experience working in the substance abuse and mental health fields. She has been with Sacramento County for nine years; before that, she worked in a variety of community-based organizations, in Napa and Solano counties, and for the state Department of Health Services.
